Yuki Kubota
LE CAFE DU BONBON
http://blog.bonbon.cc/about/

Toyoko Hosokoshi
Le cabaret
Le cabaret
http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1318/A131810/13014486/


I started this to help out with SHIPS MAG.
shipsMAG
http://www.shipsmag.jp/


For the first installment of "Koichi Kuwahara Selects," I paid homage to

the female owners of two charming shops in Yoyogi-Uehara.

The keyword connecting these two women is, quite simply, "tantrum."

To live truly as themselves, they decided to make their shops and classes
into spaces for that purpose.

Even these women of such strong spirit,
their initial impulse and expression of "I want to do this"
was not, contrary to imagination, a lofty, logical plan.

Of course, they likely took many detours, got lost in mazes,
and surely agonized over things countless times.
But their final conclusion was simple and direct:

"I absolutely have to do this~!!!"

Once they set their minds to it, they charged straight ahead toward their goals,
something they could never do if they pretended to be adults.
It was an emotional directness, much like a spoiled child.

Yet, after they had done it and looked back, the reality was,

like yielding to a flowing river, they simply let things happen, and it was all very natural.

It has been a long time since the era of women was proclaimed,
but in the worlds of the two women I respect this time, there is something different from men,
that is to say, they don't try to be cool like men.
It's more about emotion! Directness! Straightforwardness!
That's why, precisely because of that,
their deliciousness is free of lies or pretense.

Their individual, unvarnished sincerity, true to themselves, convinces me.

To put it without fear of misunderstanding, their worlds,

are shops that evoke the scent of Paris.

This doesn't mean they offer the same tastes as Paris,

but they are clearly different from other "Parisian-style" shops in Tokyo.

It's the richness of time spent there, evoking the time and atmosphere of Paris.

Because they prioritize living each day joyfully and richly,
because they consider what is satisfying to them as women,
because they pour all their energy into simple goals,
because there are no lies in anything they do,

the taste, atmosphere, and prices are all remarkably well-balanced.

In the food and beverage industry, where those seeking quick profits abound, the sincerity of these women is a truly precious presence.
And the times are undoubtedly heading in this direction. Probably.

I only do what I can do myself. This is the key.

The highest quality at the smallest scale brings happiness to those around.

Jizo-dori

← Diary-T 219-224